Rascal Flatts & Dog Training

I had a great weekend! Mom, Carol, Renee' & I left for Dallas on Friday afternoon and got to Grapevine around 6:00. We went over to the Grapevine Mall and had supper at the Rainforest Cafe..It was a little too loud for us. I had been to the one in California & Las Vegas, but It was just too loud! We shopped a little bit that evening, but decided to call it a night around 9pm.

Saturday we got up and headed back to the mall for a lovely day of shopping, and exercise.. I say exercise because that Mall in Grapevine is ridiculous big and walking around it took forever! We had fun though, then headed back to our beautiful motel (the Hampton Inn in Grapevine). We were about 20 minutes from the Superpages center, so we took off around 5:30 and headed to the show. It was HOT outside, but we were excited and ready to go!

We weren't supposed to get to go to the Darrius Rucker meet and Greet, but Magical Neda from Lyric street records got us in, and yes, Mom totally Smash-faced Darrius Rucker!!

He put on a great show, and actually sang some of the Hootie and the Blowfish Songs. The whole show was great. Cledus T Judd opened it up, then my Flatts boys came out and they were AWESOME, as usual. Its one of my top 3 concerts of all time. The Encore was them brining Darrius back out and singing "Hold my Hand" and "Revolution" and "Life is a Highway"..it was an awesome show with my awesome mom, and some awesome friends!! Here's Renee', me, and Carol.


Then last night was Payslee & I's first "Manners" class..It went pretty well, because she was BY FAR not the worst one in the class, so that made me feel better. We are working on "Pay attention to me" and "Sit".. She already knows these things at home, but in a room full of screaming dogs, its a little harder to keep her attention!! I'll post more about it tomorrow!

**Save Money at Amusement Parks
Visiting an amusement park can be downright expensive. So, here are tips to help you cut costs this summer, courtesy of the Associated Press:

**First, look for Internet specials, and coupons in newspapers, on grocery items, and at gas stations and fast food chains. For example, buying tickets online for Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey can save you $10 apiece, and coupons on Coke cans offer two-for-one weekday admission, or $15 off weekend tickets.

** Consider a season pass if you plan to visit an amusement park more than once. It’ll probably pay for itself in less than two visits.

**Go to small regional parks, and old-fashioned seaside parks. They’re often a lot cheaper than big theme parks, and have much shorter lines. For example, you can buy individual ride tickets at New York’s Coney Island, and California’s Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. They also offer multiple-ticket discounts, and unlimited-ride wristbands.

**Some parks also have discounts for locals. For example, Disneyland’s $99 Summer Fun Pass lets you visit the park three times between now and the end of August and all Disney theme parks offer free admission this year if you visit on your birthday.

**Check out AAA. They sell steeply-discounted advance tickets to theme parks and attractions.
**You can also find offers like the “kids eat free” card in Orlando, Florida, which is good at Disney World, Universal Tours, SeaWorld, and over 100 area restaurants.
If you don’t find any deals on the park’s website, call them. Most theme parks and attractions will help you find the best deals available, if you just ask.

**Finally: If you’re on a tight budget, be firm with your kids. Tell them beforehand that you want to splurge on a day at the park, but you can only afford it if they promise not to ask for extras – like souvenirs and arcade games. That’ll cut down on your expenses – and eliminate most of the whining.